Surfing pools containing equipment for generating waves suitable for surfing have been previously proposed and, in some cases, used commercially. Examples of previously proposed surfing pools are described in Australian patent No. 572,116 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,062,192; 4,692,949; and 4,812,077.
Previous surfing pools known to the present inventor have not been capable of generating waves suitable for "tube riding," which is riding inside a breaking wave. Tube riding is possible only with waves that break with a space between the breaking lip of the wave and the face of the wave, and that exhibit progressive breaking ("peeling") laterally along the wave front over a long distance. The surfer typically rides the shoulder or base of the wave at the leading edge of the break as it progresses laterally along the wave front, and the surfer can also ride inside the breaking part of the wave or in the tube. Waves of this type are to be contrasted with spilling waves, which break without forming tubes, i.e., there is no space between the breaking part of the wave and the face of the wave.